The present invention relates to a ballet shoe or ballet slipper and particularly to the construction of the underside of the shoe. More particularly, the present invention relates to an improved ballet shoe construction with the central bottom portion of the shoe comprising a gusset which should reduce the discomfort on the wearer""s foot usually associated with a seam in the shoe usually located along the central bottom portion of the shoe.
Ballet shoes or ballet slippers are typically formed with the shoe upper folded under and beneath the foot to define the bottom of the shoe. Typically, two separate, left and right front and two separate left and right, rear portions are attached together to form the shoe and the upper portions are folded under the underside of the shoe. Thus, the front portions are attached to the rear portions at a seam that extends across the shoe. As the bottom of the shoe is formed by material that is brought down from the shoe upper and then folded under the shoe, there is typically a seam in the bottom of the shoe between the left and right shoe upper portions that extends longitudinally along the shoe from the region of the front toward the heel, and runs the length of the underside of the shoe. That seam may be unsightly and/or uncomfortable for the wearer.
A traditional ballet shoe or slipper and its main components are shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 shows the ballet shoe as assembled, and FIG. 2 shows the main component parts of the shoe as they appear when cut from a blank of material. This ballet shoe includes a front shoe upper 2 which has a front edge 3 that is folded under the shoe and the material is gathered together to form a front pleated bottom portion 5 of the shoe. The ballet shoe also includes two rear shoe uppers 4a and 4b which are sewn together and folded under the shoe to together form a rear bottom portion of the shoe. To maintain the shoe shape, the front shoe upper 2 is sewn together along its opposite outward edges 12a and 12b to form a longitudinal seam 12 which extends toward the rear portion of the shoe, and the two rear shoe uppers 4a and 4b are sewn together along their respective opposite, laterally outward edges 14a and 14b to form a longitudinal seam 14 which extends toward the front portion of the shoe. The front and rear upper portions are thereafter attached to each other along confronting edges 10a and 10c from the front and 10b and 10d from the rear portions to form a seam 10 which extends transversely across the shoe. Thus, the attachment of the shoe upper parts causes the seams 12 and 14 form a continuous seam which extends longitudinally along the shoe. Respective front and rear outer sole portions 6 and 8 are then sewn under each of the front and rear shoe portions, respectively.
As shown in FIG. 1, this traditional construction of a ballet shoe creates at least two seams which respectively extend longitudinally and transversely along the bottom of the shoe. These seams may be unsightly and/or uncomfortable for the wearer. Also, the point 17 at which all of the seams 10, 12 and 14 meet forms an overlap which is greater in thickness than each of the seams and the thickness of the material used for each of the uppers. This may be a lump in the middle of the bottom of the shoe which may press against the bottom of the wearer""s foot.
Alternatively, the entire shoe upper may be made of a single piece of material. Considering the large area to be covered, namely the upper and all of the underside of the foot, a large dimension blank of material must be cut for defining the entire shoe upper and the bottom of the shoe. This large area blank is irregularly shaped to fit the foot and around the ankle. It is cut from a large sheet, and cutting its shape leaves a considerable amount of unusable waste material, as contrasted with using blanks of material which are smaller sized and irregularly shaped pieces but can be more compactly arranged next to each other, for the more economical use of the material and a smaller amount of waste or scrap material.
It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a dance shoe or slipper which does not require a seam which extends longitudinally along the central underside portion of the shoe.
Another object is to increase the comfort of the shoe of the wearer""s foot.
Another object of the present invention is to reduce the size of a blank of material needed for forming the shoe including the bottom of the shoe.
A ballet shoe according to the present invention has a front shoe upper which defines a front portion of the shoe and a rear shoe upper which defines a rear portion of the shoe. The front edge of the front shoe upper is folded under the bottom of the shoe at the toe area in the usual manner to form a front pleated underfoot portion. The rear shoe upper includes a portion that is long enough to be folded under the bottom of the shoe at the heel area to define the rear portion of the shoe. Preferably, the rear shoe upper is divided into two separate left and right rear sections which are shaped to meet at the heel of the shoe so that the rear portion of the shoe has a seam that extends along the rear portion of the calcaneus or heel bone.
The invention comprises an extra piece of material, or gusset, disposed between the front portion of the shoe and the rear portion of the shoe and which defines a central portion of the shoe. Preferably, the forward and rearward edges of the gusset are attached by stitching to the confronting rearmost edge of the front portion and frontmost edge of the rear portion. The gusset preferably has a generally diamond shape, with an apex toward the front and an apex toward the rear, and the confronting edges of the front and rear portions of the shoe are shaped complementary to the shape of the gusset edges. The gusset extends completely laterally across the underside of the shoe, avoiding a seam which extends longitudinally along the central underfoot portion of the shoe.
Further, as the gusset is a separate piece of material, the blanks for forming the front and rear portions of the shoe may be smaller sized irregular geometric shapes. These smaller shapes enable more economical placement of the patterns for forming the blanks from a large sheet of material, such that less material is wasted when the sheet is cut to form the blanks for the various parts of the shoe.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.